Young authors & readers to create soundtracks for e-books

11 November 2014

Young authors & readers to create soundtracks for e-books in the classroom

The New Zealand Book Council and Booktrack have teamed up with top Kiwi author Brian Falkner to pilot a new initiative for young authors to create soundtracks to e-books in the classroom.

Brian Falkner will visit Hobsonville Point Secondary School in Auckland on November 13 as part of the New Zealand Book Council’s Writers in Schools programme. He will lead students in creative writing and creating synchronised soundtracks to e-books and stories using Booktrack’s free education-focused platform, Booktrack Classroom. This auditory approach to reading is designed to inspire an immersive, more engaged experience for students. On the day, pupils will learn new writing techniques and then how to layer and mix dynamic audio effects and soundscapes that enhance written stories, bringing them to life visually, imaginatively and aurally.

Each year the New Zealand Book Council’s Writers in Schools programme connects more than 25,000 young New Zealand readers with New Zealand’s best writers in classrooms from the inner city to remote rural areas. Booktrack is a New Zealand company that has developed a revolutionary new digital platform to enable authors and readers to create synchronised, movie-style soundtracks that are automatically paced to match the story while you read.

“As New Zealand’s leading national reading charity we are dedicated to inspiring a love of reading because we know the difference it makes to young lives,” says New Zealand Book Council CEO Catriona Ferguson. “We are excited to see Brian Falkner use dynamic Booktrack technology to enthuse and extend young readers’ pleasure and skill in reading and writing.”

Booktrack has already proven it has the power to deepen reading comprehension and engagement. Recent research from the University of Auckland revealed that reading with Booktrack Classroom increased students’ reading time by 30% and comprehension by up to 17%. “It’s great to be able to team up with the New Zealand Book Council to share the Booktrack Classroom experience to engage young New Zealanders. We hope that this will help bring a whole new generation of youth back to the love of reading and creative writing,” says Booktrack CEO and co-founder Paul Cameron.

This is a pilot initiative and further Writers in Schools and Booktrack visits are planned, including an upcoming visit led by award-winning author Ted Dawe at Auckland Girls’ Grammar School onDecember 4.

For more information about the New Zealand Book Council and its Writers in Schools programme, please visit www.bookcouncil.org.nz. For further information about Booktrack, please visit www.booktrack.com.

About the New Zealand Book Council

Books and reading change lives. Writers shape our culture. We spread the word.

Established in 1972, the New Zealand Book Council is the country’s leading national charity dedicated to supporting our reading and writing culture. Our mission is to champion the lifelong engagement of New Zealanders in reading, and to lead the promotion and nurturing of New Zealand writers, writing and books.

“Not only does the Book Council talk the talk, it walks the talk. I'm constantly amazed at the range of work it does for our books and writers. What would the industry do without it? One great activity it organises is for writers to go into schools. A real author in the classroom? You can't get better than that.’’ – Witi Ihimaera

About Booktrack
Booktrack is transforming reading the way sound transformed silent film

Booktrack offers a new content creation and distribution platform that turns reading into an immersive movie-like experience. Booktrack’s patented technology lets anyone add a synchronized movie-style soundtrack to an e-book or other digital text content, with the soundtrack audio paced to each individual’s reading speed.

Funded by investors including Peter Thiel (co-founder and former CEO of PayPal), Booktrack will change the way people read, write, and publish their stories.

ENDS

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